• Open science refers to practices and behaviours to make research more transparent, rigorous, reproducible, accessible, and inclusive
• Teaching Open Science is co-edited by Aston University’s Dr Charlotte Pennington and Dr Madeleine Pownall from the University of Leeds
• The book is aimed at educators who want to incorporate open science into their teaching across disciplines.

Dr Charlotte Pennington, senior lecturer in psychology at Aston University, has co-edited a new book focused on how to incorporate open science principles and best practice into teaching and learning.

Open science refers to the practices and behaviours that aim to make research more transparent, rigorous, reproducible, accessible, and inclusive, for example, by making research papers and their underlying materials and data freely available.

Teaching Open Science was published by Edward Elgar Publishing on 29 May 2026. Aimed at educators, the book focuses specifically on how to embed open science practices and values in teaching contexts and what tangible steps educators can take to make this possible. The book brings together over 45 leading scholars across disciplines and covers topics such as conducting replications with students, enhancing critical thinking, and decolonising the curricula. Previous works have looked at why teaching open science is important, rather than how to teach it, with this book addressing this need.

A large body of research has documented issues in scientific practices, across disciplines, identifying needs for improvement and best practice. This spans how scientists report their study plans, share materials and data, disseminate findings, and even work together. Researchers are adopting new practices, such as study preregistration and sharing anonymised data in an ethical manner, yet the teaching of these practices remains largely absent from the classroom.

By teaching open science effectively, educators can help students become critical, thoughtful and knowledgeable consumers of science, and adopt best practices themselves, ensuring the future credibility of scientific research.

Dr Pennington’s previous book, A Student's Guide to Open Science: Using the Replication Crisis to Reform Psychology, won the 2024 British Psychological Society (BPS) Textbook Award. She and Dr Pownall also co-authored chapters on open science for another book, Introduction to Teaching Social Psychology, by Catherine A Sanderson and Rebecca R Totton.

Dr Pennington said:

“We recognised that there was a clear need for a ‘how to’ approach, rather than an overview of teaching recommendations. Our book therefore prompts educators to consider how they can practically embed open science into their teaching context, importantly providing them with the didactic tools to achieve this. This crucially shifts the conversation and gives educators something practical to use to fully integrate open science into their teaching.

“Dr Pownall and I assembled a large and diverse team of scholars from across disciplines and countries to create something practical and functional. The wonderful contributions in this book highlight that science is best practised as a team effort.”

Dr Pownall said:

“Teaching Open Science was a large and ambitious project, and it was a real pleasure to co-edit. We wanted to create something practical, clear, and evidence-informed that educators could use to integrate open science into their teaching. The book was written by fellow educators from across disciplines, bringing together a wide range of perspectives and experiences.”

The publisher, Edward Elgar Publishing, has offered a 40% discount through its website with the code PENN40.